Tunisia Tourism

Tourism in Tunisia

Tourism in Tunisia is a major industry, attracting around 9.4 million arrivals annually from the year 2016 to 2020, making it one of the most visited countries in Africa.

Among Tunisia's tourist attractions are its cosmopolitan capital city of Tunis, the ancient ruins of Carthage, the Muslim and Jewish quarters of Djerba, and coastal resorts outside Monastir. According to The New York Times, Tunisia is known for its "golden beaches, sunny weather, and affordable luxuries."

Tourism in Tunisia History

Garrett Nagle, in his book Advanced Geography, Tunisia's tourist industry "benefits from its Mediterranean location and its tradition of low-cost package holidays from Western Europe." The development of tourism dates back to 1960 through the joint efforts of government and private groups. In 1962, tourism, with 52,000 arrivals and 4,000 beds, generated revenue of two million dollars and became the main source of foreign exchange in the country.

Tunisia hosts every year, but specially during the summer season, a number of music festivals, including the International Festival of Carthage or the Tabarka Jazz Festival.

Up to the turn of the century, Tunisia's main attraction was on its northeast coastline around Tunis, however, the Seventh National Development Plan of 1989 created several new tourist areas including the resort at Port El Kantaoui The tourism sector now represents 6.5% of Tunisia's GDP and provides 340,000 jobs, 85,000 of which are direct, accounting for 11.5% of the working population, with a significant share of seasonal employment.

France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom have been Tunisia's traditional tourist markets. In recent years, Tunisia has expanded its tourism industry to new markets such as Russia and China. From 2003 to 2004, it saw a resurgence in tourist numbers, and in 2007, arrivals increased by 3% compared to 2006..

Tourism in Tunisia suffered severe blows following the Bardo National Museum attack and the Sousse attack in 2015. However, the country quickly recovered its position as a top destination in Africa and the Mediterranean, with 2018 numbers exceeding those of 2010 by 6%, reaching a record 8.3 million visitors.

The COVID-19 pandemic had catastrophic effects on Tunisia's tourism sector, with earnings in 2020 down 60% to US$563 million.

Tourism in Tunisia Statistics

In 2000, there were 197,400 hotel beds in roughly 95,977 rooms with an occupancy rate at 56%. 5,057,193 travelers came to Tunisia that year. That year, tourist expenditures were nearly $1.5 billion. According to 2002 US Department of State estimates, the average daily cost of staying in Tunis or Carthage was $146, compared to $114 in other areas of Tunisia.

A large number of tourists to Tunisia come from Eastern Europe, and the nationalities of major tourist countries is shown here: Libyans (1,472,411 visitors), French (1,234,735), Algerians (945,324), Germans (547,403), Italians (464,323) and British (350,693). There were 1,251,251 domestic tourists staying across the country for 2.75 million nights in 2006.

Tourism in Tunisia Recent Years

Year     Arrivals (million)     Earnings (dinar)
2010    6.902.749                  3.522,5
2011    4.781.896                  2.432,6
2012    5.590.464                  3.175,3
2013    6.268.582                  3.229,4
2014    6.068.593                  3.575,6
2015    5.359.309                  2.354,6
2016    5.724,021                  2.322,9
2017    7.051.993                  2.713,1
2018    8.300.000                  4.093,0
2019    9.429.000                  5.612,2